


He's All That

by Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 23:04:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21205550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes/pseuds/Not_All_Heroes_Wear_Capes
Summary: Louis makes a bet that he can turn Niall popular and it all becomes a bit challenging considering Niall hates him! Can these two be friends? Will Louis manage to fulfill the bet?Based on the movie She's All That.





	He's All That

Niall is strumming his guitar before he gets ready for school. It’s the first day of the last term and all Niall  wants to do is get out of there and never look back. His alarm goes off and he gets up to turn it off before going into his step-sisters room to wake her up, he turns on the light and opens up the curtains before clapping his hands a yelling for her to wake up. It’s lucky his step-dad isn’t there otherwise he would have gotten annoyed with him, his step-sister groans before throwing her quilt off her bed.

Niall walks out and goes to get ready, he’s done within 15 minutes and he goes downstairs to get breakfast ready. His sister comes down 10 minutes before they’re supposed to leave and she’s rushing around to find her stuff, Niall hands her the book she’s looking for, the hair tie she needs for gym class and her lunch. He messes up her hair before gently pushing her out the door.

On the posh side of town, Louis Tomlinson groans as he reaches over and turns his alarm off, he runs his hands through his hair before rubbing the sleep from his eyes and getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom. He knocks on his sister’s bedroom doors on the way to the bathroom. He showers and quickly gets dressed before walking downstairs and into the kitchen to make breakfast for his sisters. They come downstairs 20 minutes later pushing each other to get into the kitchen first, he smiles as he hands them all a plate of pancakes. He  reali z es one of his sisters is missing, he shakes his head,

“Lottie! Get your ass downstairs now or I’ll come up there and text your boyfriend a picture of you with your makeup smudged and your hair all messy! I know how much you hate it when people see you like that”

He can hear her yell and he  laugh s loudly before running up the stairs, he can see her run into the bathroom and he turns around, “Don’t be too long, you’re walking the girls to school” He can hear her groan as he walks down the stairs.

####

Louis pulls into the school parking lot and he looks as everyone is watching him, he gets out the car and he walks into the school, “Ladies” He winks as he passes the group of girls standing at their lockers, he can hear them gush about him and it makes him feel good even if he prefers to date guys. He walks outside to the lawns where his best friends are joking around with each other. His other friends are standing around watching them as well, Stan looks over at Louis and raises his eyebrow,

“Oi Malik, Payno! Cut it out, the ladies are staring”

“Oh , please Lou, you know they’re only looking over here  be cause of you and besides, they should know Zayn and I have eyes for each other.” Louis looks over at Zayn who’s putting Liam into a headlock, he shakes his head,

“It’s a shame I’m taken…speaking of, where the hell is my boyfriend?”

Liam points behind him and when Louis turns around, he can see Harry walking over the him and his friends,

“Hey babe” Louis leans in for a kiss, but Harry moves so Louis kisses his cheek instead,

“Lou, can we talk…we need to break up”

Louis looks at Harry standing in front of him, looking guilty as ever. Louis’s confused as he watches as Harry looks anywhere but him,

“Wait, what?”

“I said we need to break up”

“I know, I heard you but why? Where did all this come from?”

“We both know it wasn’t going to last long and besides…I met someone else…”

“Who?”

“Nick Grimshaw…”

“Wait, my next-door  neighbour Nick? That’s the twat your breaking up with me for?”

“Yeah, that’s the one…I’m sorry Louis”

Harry just walks away leaves Louis standing there looking like an idiot in front of his mates, he turns around and looks at all his mates. Stan, Luke and  Callum aren’t sure what to say so they just shrug their shoulders and continue their conversation, Liam and Zayn are giving him a sad look and all Louis can do is laugh and jump on Liam’s back.

Niall Horan is walking past the group of guys and he rolls his eyes as he watches them act like dickheads. He walks into the school and walks into his first class of the day when his friends are waiting in their seats, he hugs his mate Josh from behind and he then leans forward and messes up Ashton and Michael’s hair. They slap his hands away and Niall sits down,

“You’ve got to stop doing that Niall, you know I hate it when you do that”

“Sorry guys”

The teacher walks in and silences the whole class.

####

There are people whispering as Louis is walking out of his class and down the stairs, they’re all staring at him and he’s pretty sure he has an idea why they’re staring. 

“Oi Tommo, don’t listen to them. Harry’s an idiot who let you go”

“Thanks Stan”

Louis, Liam and Stan walk over to the rest of their friends when Louis looks over and he can see Nick Grimshaw standing against his red sports car and Louis thinks he looks like a douchebag. He stops were he is, and Liam and Stan stop with him and look around, when they see  Nick , they both  scoff .

“Twat”

Louis smirks when Liam mumbles under his breath, he looks back over and he wishes he didn’t. Harry’s walking over to Nick, he throws his bag in the back seat and he jumps into Nick’s arms. Louis feels sick to his stomach as he watches the two of them kissing. He turns back to Liam and Stan who are then dragging him over to the group.

“Why should I even bother getting upset and angry about Harry dumping me? I could do so much better than him”

“Sorry to break it to you Louis but Harry’s irreplaceable”

“Seriously Liam, he’s not really. He’s a good fuck and that’s all he really is and take Josh Devine for example, he’s got a killer smile and he’s an amazing drummer, but he’s not really got anything else going for him. But with the right clothes and the right haircut he could be one of the hottest guys in the school. He could replace Harry easily”

“Could he?”

Louis takes a look at Josh and he thinks that he could be hot, he just isn’t showing it off

“You want to bet on it mate?”

“Liam, can I talk to you over here for a second?” Stan pulls Liam to the side and they have a quiet conversation, they walk back to Louis and the others, 

“You two okay over there?”

“Yeah, Stan was just giving me an idea” Stan protests but Liam shuts him up, he turns to Louis and smirks at him, “I bet that you couldn’t turn someone from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. I’ll pick the person and you have until the end of term to prove to me that you can do it”

Louis thinks about it for a second before shaking Liam’s hand, Stan, Zayn,  Callum and Luke are uncertain about what Liam and Louis are up to, but they don’t say much because they know once Liam has something in  mind , he’ll do anything to make sure he finishes it. “Let’s go find someone then”

Louis doesn’t know who Liam is going to choose and he’s a little bit worried about it. They’re sitting down and watching as everyone walks past them, Liam keeps whispering with the others and it’s starting to scare Louis,

“Okay, what about him?”

Louis shakes his head as Liam points to Ashton Irwin, he knows that Luke has a crush on him, so he won’t go there. Louis points to two more people but he won’t go there cause  the y're not challenging  enough, he finally points to Niall Horan.

“Hell no! Not a chance Liam”

“Aw why not? Niall’s perfect”

“He’s going to be too challenging! He’s way to inaccessible and not to mention he hates me! Also, he’s not that ugly, he’s kind of cute”

“You’re not trying to turn him into the sexiest man alive, you’re trying to make him popular and maybe give him a little bit of a makeover”

Louis thinks about what he’s going to for a second before he finally agrees to do it, he stands up and rolls the sleeves up on his jacket to show off his tattoos, he’s not sure if Niall will like them but he knows girls and other guys do. He approaches Niall and stands behind him, he can see Ashton, Michael and Josh slap Niall’s knee. Niall looks at them and he hears a voice he doesn’t really want to hear,

“Hey Niall, I was wondering if I could talk to you?” Niall looks back to see Louis standing behind him, he looks at Josh who isn’t sure what’s going on, Niall can see his step-sister Sophie walking up to him, he can hear Louis again, 

“Hey Squirt”

Sophie looks at Niall with wide eyes, she can’t believe Louis Tomlinson is talking to her, “Oh my god, Niall, Louis Tomlinson knows my name”

“That is not your name” Niall turns around, “That’s not her name mate” 

“I was kind of hoping we could talk but I guess  you 're walking off and leaving me here to look like an absolute twat” Niall stands up and Josh, Ashton and Michael follow him “Sophie, let’s go home” She smiles and blushes as she walks away with Niall, “Sophie, stay away from him”

Louis feels  kind of shitty at the moment, he’s never had anyone ignore him before, he walks back over to Liam and the boys, they’re all laughing at him except for Stan who’s just shaking his head.

####

Louis is sitting at the kitchen  side, he looks out the window and he wonders if Harry’s over at Nick’s right now. Lottie walks into the kitchen and she takes an apple from the bowl next to Louis before jumping up onto the side and facing her older brother,

“Why so sad Lou-Lou? Is it because of Harry dumping you for the old man next door?”

“Wait, how did you hear about Harry and I? Also, Nick’s not that old…at least I don’t think so”

Lottie rolls her eyes and she flips her hair, “I might not go to the same school as you, but everybody knows about you and Harry. Also, everybody knows about your little project with Niall Horan, how’s that going?”

“How did you find out about that?”

“I’m friends with his step-sister, we used to do dance together. How’s your plan going so far?

“Well, he basically rejected me in front of our friends…” 

“I like him more than I already do”

“You’re supposed to like me more missy!” Louis crosses his arms and takes a bit from an apple, Lottie rolls her eyes again, “So it’s not going well? Have you ever considered that maybe Niall is a little bit different than Harry? Try and make an effort, get to know him as a person and his likes and dislikes”

The front door shuts and voices fill the house, Louis rolls his eyes, “Alright, the troops are home so I’m going to my room, if Dan asks just tell him I’m working on my uni applications when in reality I’ll be cyber stalking Niall”

“Alright I’ll be at Sophie’s and don’t worry I won ’ t say anything to Niall okay?”

“Alright, see you later”

Louis spends the rest of the evening and the week getting to know things about Niall.

####

Niall’s sitting at work just waiting for his shift to finish, there’s no customers so he’s sitting and talking with Josh, the door opens and in walks the last person Niall wants to see,

“Horan, Devine…how are you both?”

“What do you want Tomlinson? If you need me to write an essay for you that isn’t going to happen. Despite my looks, I’m not the smartest person, in fact I’m not smart in that aspect and Josh can assure you” Josh nods his head and goes back to what he was doing,

“Don’t worry Horan, I’m not after your help, I’m doing pretty well in all my classes…”

“Well, what the fuck are you doing here and why are you talking to me?”

“Are you always this much of an asshole? Or is it just reserved for me?  be cause I want to talk to you but if you’re going to act like this I won’t bother”

“No, I’m sorry, what did you want to talk to me about?

“It’s okay Niall…and I wanted to talk to you about music…”

“Music…didn’t realise you like music but maybe we could talk about this another time?”

Josh speaks up and Niall turns to him, “Actually, you could talk about it tonight…” Niall shakes his head and motions for Josh to shut up, “I’ve got that spare ticket to the Mumford and Sons concert tonight, if you want to come with us?”

“Joshua, do you mind if we talk for a second?” Niall holds up a finger to Louis before grabbing Josh’s arm and dragging him away from where Louis was standing, “Josh, what the fuck are you doing? I don’t want him to come with us, he’ll just ruin it by being a dick”

“No, he won’t, just let him come with us. Besides, don’t you want to know why one of the best-looking guys in our year is all of a sudden speaking to you? I mean, he’s practically stalking you, don’t you want to know why that is as well”

Josh has a good point so Niall caves in and let’s Louis go with them, “Okay, a few things. The concert starts at 8, so everyone is getting to my place at 6. We usually go to get dinner before a concert so be at my place at least 15 minutes before 6”

Niall smiles nicely before turning away and walking off so he can finally clock out. Louis smirks and looks at Josh who just shrugs his shoulders and goes into the back with Niall. Louis walks out feeling pretty good about tonight.

####

If Louis being honest , he had a really nice night, he didn’t  realise the tickets were front row and he never  realised the  group of boys were good singers . It wasn’t even a sad song, but Louis could feel like he was about to cry when they performed ‘I Will Wait’. It was his mums favourite song by Mumford and Sons and very time he hears it he thinks of her.

“Hey Louis, are you okay? You got a little bit upset earlier during one of their songs…”

“Yeah, I’m fine…where are the others?”

“They’re inside cueing for the bathroom, I told them to go like 5 minutes before the end of the concert but no, they’re idiots”

Louis laughs along with  Niall, they stand against the wall outside the venue. Louis looks around and he notices something about Niall and he doesn’t want to be rude when he asks so he just asks nicely,

“I’ve noticed that you always wear glasses, do you ever wear contacts?”

“No, I don’t like wearing them, it’s always been like that, why do you ask?

“Just noticed that, even noticed it when you walk around the school. I like you in glasses, it brings the blue in your eyes out”

Niall opens his mouth and scoffs before turning to Louis, “Really? I had my doubts about tonight and it’s nice to know they’ve been  prove n right…you can go home, I’ll wait for josh and get a ride from him”

“Niall, wait!”

It’s too late Niall’s walking away and ignoring Louis and what he’s saying, Louis rolls his eyes and walks the opposite direction towards his car.

#### 

It’s been a couple of days since the concert and Louis wants to try and makeup with Niall so he’s going to try and drag him along to the beach, he knows it will take some convincing, but he’ll do whatever it takes to get Niall to go with him.

When he gets to Niall’s house , he can see that there’s a truck sitting in the driveway, he didn’t notice that last night so maybe it’s Niall’s but when he looks  again , he can see a man standing and looking under the hood of the car. 

“You okay mate?”

Louis looks over at the man who’s checking the car, “Yeah, I’m good…I’m here to pick up Niall. We’ve got plans this afternoon, I’m Louis Tomlinson”

“Ah you’re the famous Louis that Niall can’t stop talking about”

“He talks about me? that’s unexpected”

“Don’t think it’s nice, he thinks you’re a twat…his words not mine. My daughter on the other hand, she thinks you’re the best thing ever…I’m Chris, Niall’s stepdad”

“Nice to meet you sir” They shake hands and Louis doesn’t know what to say but luckily Sophie walks outside at the right time, 

“Louis, hey”

“Hey Sophie, you okay kiddo?” Louis and Sophie high five as Niall walks outside, Louis waves and Niall rolls his eyes, he leans against the wall with his hands in his pockets,

“What are you doing here?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come to the beach with me? or do you hate the beach?”

“I don’t hate the beach but I don’t want to go with you” Niall turns around and walks back in the house, Louis decides to play around with Niall for a bit,

“Hey Sophie? Heard you’re pretty good at FIFA, what do you say we play a few games?”

Sophie’s eyes light up and she looks over at Niall, “Louis, can you stop what  you 're doing? It’s not going to get me to come to the beach with you…”

“Niall, just go to the beach with Louis! He’s asking you and he seems pretty keen to go with  you, it’ll get you out of my hair for the day”

Niall glares at his step-dad and then looks at Louis who’s giving him his best puppy dog eyes, he looks at Sophie who looks at him the way Louis is, Niall hates what he’s about to say but he gives up,

‘Fine, I’ll get my stuff. Be down in 15 minutes, try not to let Sophie fall in love with you while I’m gone” Niall turns around and goes inside to get ready. Louis counts that as a victory.

They get to the beach and it’s pretty quiet, they’re having a conversation about sport when they’re interrupted by Louis friends yelling at them from the steps leading to the beach,

“Hey Tommo! I called your house and when I heard from your sister that you were at the beach, so I thought we better come down and hang out with you, we didn’t realise you would have Niall with you. Is this going to be like your first date with Harry, a lot of people have lost things here if you know what I mean” Liam winks at Louis and Niall’s standing off at the side, he’s quite confused but ignores it.

“Don’t worry about him, he was dropped on his head as a baby. I’m Stan…”

“I know who you are but it’s nice to meet you. It’s nice to meet all of you”

Everyone greets Niall while Liam and Louis go and grab the stuff from Liam’s car. Niall stands as Zayn, Luke and  Callum are taking off their tops, he feels a little bit insecure as he notices how ripped all of them are. He feels awkward, but he  take s his top off anyway and sits down next to Zayn.

Louis and Liam come back and they’re both caught off guard by Niall, Louis can’t stop staring, “Look at the arms on Niall, he’s not weird like I thought. I guess we picked a good one for this bet”

“Niall! We’re gonna play some football, you want to play?”

“Uh, sure, I’m not any good though”

“Oh , come on! Louis crappy at it too but he still play s ”

Louis protests from behind Luke and Niall laughs at him, “Come on then Louis, show me what you can do”

It turns out Louis is a pro at football, Niall never realised that before. They play for an hour until Stan and Louis start getting too competitive. Niall walks off with Luke and Callum and he wonders why he decided to start hanging out with Louis.

“So, Niall, you coming to  Luke’s party tonight?”

“What party?”

“Oh, Luke’s parent s are always away on business, so he’s always got the house to himself, he’s throwing parties most weekends, but I think he only does that to see if the boy he likes will even show up…”

Niall looks around and he can see all of them want him to go but he looks at Louis just in case, Louis doesn’t exactly look bothered, so Niall nods his head yes. Zayn throws an arm around Niall’s shoulders and they walk to the cars. Once they get to the cars Niall and Louis stand to the side and let the other pack the stuff away and head off.

On the way home Louis and Niall talk about the night ahead.

“You don’t have to come to the party tonight if you don’t want”

“I wasn’t going to go anyway; Sophie and I have something planned for the night but thanks for at least think of me”

Louis drops Niall off and Niall just ignores Louis as he gets out the car.

#### 

The doorbell rings at 8:00pm and Niall isn’t sure who it is but he opens the door anyway to come face to face with Louis. Niall rolls his eyes and leans against the doorframe,

“You alright Horan?”

“Louis, I said I wasn’t going to come to the party, Sophie and I had something planned for the night”

“Not anymore you don’t…after Lottie’s finished with you, Sophie and Lottie are going to hang out and we are going to the party. Besides, I know for a fact your friends will be there as well” Louis smirks and walks past Niall who’s wondering what the hell is going on. Lottie walks in a few seconds later, she hugs Niall before dragging him upstairs.

“Louis what the hell is going on?” Niall stops on the first few stairs and yells to Louis,

“Just go upstairs and get dressed”

“I don’t have anything decent!”

“That’s what me and Sophie are for!” Lottie continues to drag Niall up the stairs. He has no idea what’s going to happen but he’s not sure he likes it.

####

Louis been sitting on the sofa for the last 30  minutes, he doesn’t know what’s happening up there but he’s a little bit worried. He knows how intense Lottie is and he just hopes she’s not scaring him. He’s sitting next to Chris and he’s a little bit worried about that as well, he can see Chris open his mouth to speak but he can see Sophie and Lottie come down the stairs,

“Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the new and improved but still cute as fuck Niall James Horan”

The second Niall comes down the stairs Louis heart stops and his jaw drops, Niall is a completely different person and Louis likes it. Niall’s wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with rips on the knee, he’s wearing a white top and a red and black flannel shirt that Louis never would’ve expected Niall to wear let alone own. Niall’s arms look good in the top with the sleeves rolled up and he can admire how well his sister and Sophie have done.

“Looking good Niall, I haven’t seen you wear stuff like that in a while.”

“Thanks Chris…Louis, you okay?”

Louis nods his head and looks at Niall, he smiles and the two of them leave before anyone can say anything else.

They arrive at the party and walk inside to see the others, “Niall! You look hot as fuck” 

“Thanks guys” Louis watches as Josh and Michael yell something about getting Niall drunk as they drag Niall away, Ashton stops talking to Luke and  he follows behind them. Liam comes up to Louis and pulls him to the side, 

“You guys are later than I expected, he  give in to your charms and ride you in the back seat of your car?”

“Shut the fuck up Liam!”

“No need to get offended! Anyway, you did a good job Lou, he looks hot.”

“Thanks”

“Don’t forget about the bet though mate…it looks like you and Niall are becoming closer the more you hang  out, don’t tell me you’re starting to like Niall”

“Not  gonna happen Payno. It’s all part of the bet remember?” Louis walks off to get a drink, leaving Liam to scoff and walk away to find Zayn. Louis standing with Luke and  Calum when he notices Harry coming down the stairs with  Nick’s arm around his waist. Louis just looks away and tries to find Niall but he can’t seem to find him.

Niall’s walking around the house with a drink in his hand trying to find his friends who have abandoned him. He looks for the nearest bathroom, the drink in his cup making him need to relieve himself, he pushes his way through the sea of drunken bodies and he opens the nearest door. He gets the shock of his life when he looks in to see Ashton straddling Luke.

Niall feels like being a pain in the ass and knocking on the door but then he  realises that Ashton and Luke have had a thing for each other since they were 15 so he quietly closes the door and head back downstairs to find another bathroom. 

Louis just standing in the corner when Harry approaches him in a drunken state,

“Louis William Tomlinson”

“Harold”

“You know  Nick , don’t you?

“We’ve crossed paths a few times, always though he was a douchebag . Never pegged you for the type of guy to be into dickheads”

“ Oh eat me Louis!”

Louis laughs at his drunk ex and pats him on the head, “Been there, done that...didn’t enjoy it one bit”

Harry scoffs and turns around to walk away and jump on Nicks back. Louis just rolls his eyes and walks over to Zayn who’s got his arm around Liam’s waist, the two of them looking quite cozy while talking to Luke and Ashton who also look quite cozy. Louis can’t help but smile when he reaches between them to grab a drink. The five of them settle into a conversation but it doesn't take long for it to be interrupted by the rest of their friends.

Stan taps Louis on the shoulder and points to the middle of the living room, Louis heart drops as he watches Harry come face to face with Niall. The rest of the partygoers watch on as the scene unfolds, Louis can’t hear to well over the loud music but he can make out some of the conversation but it isn ’ t until Harry pours his drink down Niall’s white shirt, then Louis doesn’t want to know what they were really talking about cause it doesn ’ t look like it was good.

“What the actual fuck Styles!? Are you fucking insane?”

“Oops...sorry, not sorry”

Niall looks like he’s about to cry and Louis just hopes that he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to see Niall upset, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to cry. He just blinks a few times and raises his voice a little,

“Fuck you Harry! See, I told Louis I didn’t want to come to this stupid party  cause I knew this shit would happen! I have spent all my high school life avoiding people like you”

“Oh Niall, you poor innocent thing. You avoided us? Please, we avoided you like the damn plague! Your nothing to us Horan, so why don’t you do us all a  favour and do what it is you  Horan’s are  good at, just like your brother and father, just leave and never come back”

“Just fuck you Styles! You 're a cunt” Niall turns to run off, Josh, Ashton and Michael  l ook at Louis and the rest of the group before running after Niall, who’s trying so hard not to cry. Louis runs after them but not before turning to Harry, who’s smiling and looking proud of what he’s done.

“Leave him Louis, he’s not worth it” 

“Oh , piss off Harry” Louis continues to run after Niall who’s now leaning against the door of Louis car. He makes his way towards him when he sees Josh out the corner of his eye. Louis waves Josh of and gives him an ‘I can handle this look’. Josh reluctantly turns around and heads back into the party.

Louis slowly approaches Niall and reaches out for him but Niall just shrugs him off, “Don’t touch me, please. I knew I shouldn’t have come tonight, I’m such a fucking idiot”

“Niall, you're not an idiot. You looked like you were having a good time earlier today, don’t let one stupid person ruin your mood especially if that person is Harry Styles”

“Can we please just go home? I don’t really want to be here right now”

“Of course, let me just let the guys know were going, get in the car and turn the radio on, you can pick this time”

Niall cracks a smile before unlocking the car.

####

It’s Monday morning and Niall’s slumped in his chair waiting for his friends to show up for class, he jumps a little as  Michael wraps his arm around Niall and places a kiss on his forehead, “You doing alright mate? I’m sorry about what happened the other night”

“I’m doing better, what about you? Bet the party didn’t suck for you”

“Nah, it was alright but it would’ve been better with you there. I was bloody third wheeling Luke and Ashton, then it was Zayn and Liam. Josh was off playing beer pong with Stan and Callum.”

Niall scoffs, “Now I wish I would’ve been there”

Michael  and Niall laugh as they watch the other t wo walk into the classroom, “Well done  Nialler , really made an impact at the party!”

“Why?” Ashton and Josh have matching grins on their faces as they hand Niall a blue piece of paper, Niall’s eyes widen when he looks at what’s written on the paper. “What the hell? Who would nominate me for prom king?”

“Hey Niall?” Niall looks up and he can see Louis poking his head into the classroom, “Congratulations mate” Niall shakes his head and hides the smile that creeping upon his face.

On the other side of the school, Louis, Liam, Stan and Luke are getting changed after a quick game of soccer.

“So , what’s going on with you and Niall? You slept with him yet?”

“Nothing is going on between us, and no, I haven’t slept with him. Why would I do that?”

“Don’t know, you guys have been awfully  close the last few days, and I'm pretty sure you and Harry hooked up after 20 minutes of knowing each other. I’m pretty sure a guy like you has needs and what better than to satisfy those needs by getting some, doesn’t matter who it’s with. I’m pretty sure Niall would get down on his knees for you easily, if not I know for a fact Harry would do it now him and Grimshaw have split up.”

“Fuck you Liam!”

“Oh , I'm so sorry, if you're not  gonna take Niall for a nice little ride, then I will. He looks like he’d be a good time”

“What the fuck Liam!? What about Zayn?”

“What about him? Zayn and I aren’t exclusive, he’s a good fuck that’s all. Niall will be an even better one” Liam smirks and Louis pushes Liam against the wall,

“If you lay one hand on Niall, I swear to god Liam! You won’t like what I'm  gonna do to your pretty little face. Zayn won’t want to fuck you again after that”

Liam pushes Louis off him and laughs, “You know what Tommo? I couldn’t give a shit about what your  gonna do to me if I lay a hand on your precious little toy. You know, for the last few years all I've done is sit around and watch as you walk around this place like your untouchable. It would be nice to see what it would look like when I knock you down a peg or two and take Niall away from you.”

Louis charges for Liam again but Luke stops them both before a punch is thrown. The two boys stare at each other for a second, Louis grabs his bag and walks away. Liam smirks before turning to Luke and Stan, who are both confused about what just happened.

####

It’s  the  afternoon and Niall’s sitting in the shed that his mum converted for him when he was younger and starting out playing guitar. He’s strumming his guitar and quietly singing when the door opens, “Sophie, you know you're not allowed in here, go away”

“It’s not Sophie”

Niall puts his guitar down as Louis closes the door and sits himself down on one of the beanbags in the corner, “Heard you singing just then, you're not too bad.” Louis gently picks up the guitar and tries to play a little bit but he’s not exactly the best. He looks at the neck of the guitar before he sits it down again, “Is  this your mum 's old guitar? Says her name on the back...”

“Yeah, it is. She's the one that taught me to play a little bit”

Louis hums a little, “How long ago did she pass?”

“About 10 years ago now, I had just turned 8 when she died. Sophie was only a baby really when it happened. I remember the day I found out; I remember feeling sad but I never cried. I mean, for an 8-year-old losing his mum after his dad and brother left, crying was a thin g I should’ve done but I never did, just sat there. Even at the funeral I sat in the corner with Sophie in my lap and I just stared at the wall. What about your mum? How long ago was that?”

“That was only a couple of years ago, and then my sister died a few months ago”

“Oh, I'm sorry mate, I remember hearing about it. You doing okay though?”

Louis nods his head and the two of them sit in silence, Niall picks up his guitar and starts strumming a familiar tune. Louis kicks Niall’s shin and Niall flashes him a cheeky grin before singing, he focusses on playing and doesn’t really notice Louis singing along with him until it’s nearing the end of the song. Niall stops singing and lets Louis finish the rest of the song, once he finishes the two of them smile at each other. 

“You’ve got an amazing voice mate!”

“Uh thanks, you’re not too bad yourself. Have you thought of doing music as a career?”

“Thanks. And no, I haven’t, I did consider trying out for X-Factor when I was 16 but decided against it because I knew I wouldn’t make it that far. I am considering sound engineering at  uni though, so that’s as close to that as I’ll get.”

Louis just nods. The rest of the afternoon goes by quite quickly and before they know it, it’s nearly 6:30. Niall walks Louis out and the two of them have a quick hug, when Niall pulls away , he looks at Louis who’s looking at Niall’s lips. For a second Niall thinks Louis going to kiss him but it doesn’t happen, Louis steps back,

“Uh, I have to go...I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Oh uh, yeah, sure. See you tomorrow”

Niall goes into the house and comes face to face with Sophie who just looks at him with concern on her face. He smiles and heads into the kitchen to start dinner for the two of them.

####

Niall places his tray on the table and looks at his friends, 

“Guys? Am I kissable?”

Josh chokes on his drink and coughs  “Why you asking me? We’ve known each other since we were in diapers and besides, I've never looked at you and thought about it”

“No reason... ”

Ashton places his hand on Niall’s shoulder, “There’s got to be a reason why you’ve asked that question. Did Harry say something to you again  cause I can talk to him if you want?”

“Nah it’ s  just,  yesterday  when Louis popped round my house for some unknown reason we got to talking about our lives and we realized we have some things in common. For some reason  when we were saying goodbye, he looked at me after he pulled away from our hug and I swear for a second he was about to kiss me but then he took a few steps back and walked off”

“Did you want him to kiss you?”

Did Niall want Louis to kiss him? He’s never thought of Louis in that way, his thoughts are interrupted by two people standing in the middle of the cafeteria having a yelling match.

“Niall? Isn’t that Sophie and her boyfriend?”

Niall looks over to see his stepsister with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face , he can tell she’s about to start crying and all he wants to do is go over to her and get her away from her boyfriend. He can hear the guy yelling,

“She’s better than you’ll ever be! At least I won ’ t have to be ashamed to stand next to her!”

Niall starts to see red and he’s just about to stand up and punch his sister ' s boyfriend but someone gets to the pair first. Niall looks over and he can see Louis standing in front of Sop hie, Louis looks furious and Niall can hear him having a conversation with Sophies now ex. Sophie pulls Louis in for a hug and Niall starts to feel something when he looks at the two of them.

Niall stands up and heads over to them, he smiles at Louis when he looks at him. Louis just stares at Niall b efore walking away.

“You okay kiddo?” He places an arm around Sophie and walks her over to the table where Josh, Ashton and Michael are sitting there with looks on their faces that say ‘ _ We’ll talk about what we were talking about l _ ater’ _ _ Niall sits back down and he make eye contact with Louis who’s standing against the wall, talking to Zayn and Luke. Louis smiles and breaks eye contact and walks off.

#### 

A week later and Niall’s sitting at work with Josh, the two of them bored out of their minds when the door opens and in walks Liam, Luke and  Callum . Niall’s shocked to see the three of them in the store  cause he never expected them to be into music as much as Niall is. Josh walks into the back room just as Liam approaches Niall at the counter, Niall’s unsure as to why Liam’s talking to him. The last time the brown eyed boy spoke to Niall was a few years ago, before he got popular and Niall stayed in the background.

“You alright Niall? I was hoping I could ask you a question, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me considering the last time we spoke I told you I didn’t want to be your friend anymore. I was a dickhead and I  apologise for that, I mean it. Anyway, prom? You  wanna go with me...as my date?”

“Uh, what? Are you taking the piss right now?”

“So, I'm guessing that’s a no?”

“You guessed right”

“I mean I understand why you ’ ve said no. I  mean, you and Louis have been getting closer these last few weeks, I'm guessing you guys are going together?”

“Uh, no... we’re not, we’re into each other like that. Why do you ask?”

“No reason, just thought it would be weird if you were going together. I mean, he doesn’t really care about you, so why would he ask you to the prom?”

Niall’s hurt by Liam’s comment about Louis not caring about him. He wouldn’t care if he said that when they weren't hanging out but now, he feels differently and he doesn’t know if he likes it. Niall watches as his phone lights up with a text from Louis, his heart feels heavy in his chest just looking at his name. Niall swears for a second the Liam smirks but he doesn’t get to look cause Liam’s moving and heading towards the door.

Liam calls out before walking outside, Luke and Stan following behind, “Think about what I said about prom? I think we’d have a nice  time, it’ll be like old times. I’ll see you later”

Josh walks out the back room and Niall dodges any questions Josh asks him as he walks to the bathroom. Niall pulls out his phone and deletes the message from Louis and he goes to his messages with Michael and Ashton and asks if they can take his name off the ballots for prom king, he’s not going so what’s the use of having his name down?

####

There’s a week till prom and for the last few days Louis been dodging Harry who’s made it his mission to annoy Louis into going to prom with him now that Nick’s out of the picture. Speaking of Harry, Louis just been spotted by him and all Louis wants to do is run away but Harry grabs his arm before he can.

“Louis, have you thought more about my offer to go to prom with me? I mean, we’re both nominated for prom king, it would be nice to go together. When people hear we’re back together they’ll defin ite ly vote for us...”

“I’ve already told you Harry, I'm not going to prom with you”

Harry rolls his eyes, “Who else are you  gonna go with? Niall? Cause the last time I checked, he was already going with someone, don’t know if your  gonna like who it is though” He points to the corner of the room. Niall’s standing talking to the last person Louis wants him to be near, Louis leaves Harry who’s smirking, and he heads towards Liam and Niall.

“Oi Payno! What do you think you're doing?”

“Uh, I'm talking to Niall about prom, what are you doing?”

Louis glares at Liam, who couldn’t care if Louis angry with him. “Are you guys going together?”

“Yeah , we are,  i asked him the other day and he told me not only 5 minutes ago he accepted my offer. Is there anything wrong with that?” Liam raises an eyebrow and smirks as Louis starts to become angrier than he was before.

“Bullshit! That’s what this is!”

Niall stands between the two friends, and crosses his arms across his chest, “What’s bullshit Louis? Liam asking me to prom? Don’t be a dick”

“I’m not being a dick, I just assumed we were going together? I thought we spoke about this before?”

“We never spoke about it! Why would you assume I wanted to go with you?!”

Liam stands between Louis and Niall, “Now, Louis...don’t you think this whole thing is pathetic? I mean, the bet was one thing, but this is something different”

The three of them stand around and it’s awkward, Niall speaks up as he’s confused at what’s happening, “Uh what bet?” He turns to Louis, “Louis, what the hell is Liam talking about?” Liam places his hand on Niall shoulder and turns to him,

“Louis here, decided to bet that he couldn’t turn an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan by the end of the term. He went through a whole list of people including Ashton and Josh before he finally settled on you. he never went for Ashton cause Luke’s in love with him and Josh was deemed attractive enough already. He chose you because you were too inaccessible and you hated him so he thought it was perfect. He thinks that if he takes you to prom then he’s going to with the bet. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way but I couldn’t sit here and watch you get your trust and heart broken by someone who couldn’t give a shit about other people’s feelings”

Louis looks as if he’s about to beat the shit out of Liam but he also looks like he’s about to cry, Niall turns to Louis and he looks sad, “Louis, is this true? You bet you could make me hot? Pease tell me that Liam’s fucking joking? You wouldn’t do that to me would you?”

Louis looks down at his feet before looking up at Liam who’s smirki ng and looking proud of himself and at Niall who’s got tears in his eyes. “Yeah, it’s true. I’m so sorry Niall, I really am”

“How could you?”

Harry comes from behind Louis and has a huge smile on his face, “You didn’t think someone like Louis would be interested in being friends with  you , did you?”

Niall takes a few steps back and bites his lip, Harry smiles again and laughs in Niall’s face, “Oh you did! That’s so sad Horan, why would Louis like you?”

Niall turns around and runs out the room, the boys are watching the scene unfold in front of them. Ashton, Michael and Josh are pissed off that someone would hurt their best friend like that, Luke,  Callum , Zayn and Stan are feeling like shit that they let this whole thing happen. They knew it would end eventually but they didn’t think that Liam would stoop so low and reveal the bet to Niall just to make Louis hurt.

Everybody goes their own separate ways, leaving Louis alone. Harry taps Louis on the shoulder, “I’ll see you at 7:30” Louis looks at where Niall was standing and he starts to cry.

####

It’s been a week and Louis sitting on the edge of his bed calling Niall for the 10 th time that day, he hasn’t heard or seen Niall since he found out about the bet and he’s starting to worry about him. The phone rings through and He can hear someone pick it up but then a voice yells into Louis ear from down the phone. “Stop fucking calling him! He doesn’t want to fucking hear your voice!” Louis recognizes it as Sophies voice and he put the phone down.

On the other side of town, Niall’s sitting in the shed strumming his guitar when Chris walks in and sits down on the floor next to Niall. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting dressed up and going to your senior prom? At least that’s what your sister tell s me”

“I’m not going, I've got nothing to wear. Besides Sophie needs someone at home to make sure she doesn’t burn the house down.

“Now you and I know that’s bullshit. Sophie’s fine by herself, you don’t need to look after your sister. You’ve been doing that since you were 8, she’s a grown woman now. You need to go out and have some fun with your friends, so get your ass inside and I’ll lend you one of my suits if you want. Besides, I think you’re gonna let your date down if you don’t go”

“What date?” Chris rolls his eyes and gently hits Niall’s shoulder as he stands up, “Go find out” Niall goes inside to see Liam standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Look, I know you don’t feel comfortable around me and you don’t trust me anymore, I don’t blame you but I think you and I'd have a nice time if we went together...so what do you say? You can go in what your wearing, you look good anyway” The two of them laugh, Niall turns around and hold up a finger, Niall rushes upstairs and grabs a suit and quickly gets dressed.

####

“Oi, wait for me asshole! 

“Lottie, I'm  gonna be late. Whatever it is, can it wait till I get home?”

“Nope, I didn’t get all dressed up to just stay home” Louis turns around to see Lottie standing in the doorway wearing a blue floor length strapless dress. “Wow...you look beautiful. You look like a princess”

“ i know I do, we wouldn’t want this to go to waste, would we?”

“Wait, you 're coming with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? You need a beautiful  blue - eyed blonde on your arm and since Niall’s not available, I'll gladly fill in for him”

Louis rolls his eyes, “Fine, let’s go” Louis hugs his sister, “wait, I feel like I'm missing something?”

“You mean, your forgetting you need to pick Harry up?”

“Nah, fuck him. He dumped me for Nick Grimshaw, he’s an idiot”

####

They’ve been at the prom for a few hours now and Louis sitting at the table looking down at his phone, he’s seen his friends a few times but their all enjoying themselves. They’re all coupled up and Louis doesn’t want to disturb them, Zayn comes to sit down next to Louis. “You doing alright mate?”

“Uh, yeah...what about you?”

Louis looks over at Zayn to see him staring over the other side of the gym, he’s watching Liam and Niall laughing with each other and Louis can sense that Zayn’s staring at Liam just wishing he was his date instead of Niall. Louis wishes the same thing; he wishes Niall was with him instead. 

“I’m doing okay...heard Niall found out about the bet”

Louis just hums and looks back over to Niall. He watches as Liam walks away from Niall leaving him by himself, “Now’s your chance to talk to him if you want” Louis hums again and the boys sit in silence until Lottie come running over to them with the rest of their friends following behind, Ashton’s the first to speak since he’s the only one that’s not out of breath.

“Louis, you need to leave now and you need to go get Niall! Liam’s taking him to some hotel for the night and he’s going to try and get Niall to sleep with him!”

Zayn and Louis both stand up, they look at each other for a second before running off together. They get outside and run over to where Zayn ’ s car is parked, they hear a yell from behind. “Lou! I’m coming with you”

“Lottie, stay here with the guys. Stan will bring you home”

“No, I’m going with you. I want to come with you, I love you and I want to see you happy”

Louis debates it for a second before nodding for Lottie to tag along. She happily jumps in the car and they speed off. But just as they’re about to head towards the hotel, Lottie receives a text from Sophie telling her that Niall’s on his way home, they head towards Niall’s hoping to beat him home. 

####

Niall arrives home to see Sophie and Chris watching re runs of Friends,

“Ah he’s home! How was it?”

“Surprisingly fun, I had a good time” The front door opens and in rushes Louis, Zayn and Lottie. Niall’s eyes go wide, “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“Sophie told us you were  here, I need to talk to you...please?”

Niall’s unsure of what he wants to do, but when he looks at Sophie, he knows he should listen to Louis and hear what he has to say, “Fine,

“Oh Zayn, Liam told me to tell you to call him. I don’t know why; he just said its important”

Zayn mumbles under his breath as he waves goodbye to everybody,

“You can go as  well, you don’t need to be here.”

“Niall...”

“No Louis, just go. You’ve done enough”

Louis turns around to leave when Chris asks him to stay. Niall gets pulled into the kitchen and Chris sits him down,

“ Niall... i don’t know why you’re being mean to him. He’s come all this way to talk to you, so the least you could do is talk to him. I know what he did was horrible and very high school, but he looks like he regrets it”

“ Sure he does. Why would he even do something that stupid if he was going to feel guilty about it afterwards?”

“I don’t know but please, just l isten to what he has to say, okay? You never know what the outcomes going to be if you don’t talk to him. If your mum was here , she’d say the same thing, she’d want you to be happy and clearly Louis makes you happy. It wasn’t until a few months ago that you started having fun and acting your age, I don’t know about you, but that made me happy. I don’t think I've ever seen you smile this much since before your mum died. I know ever since  then, you’ve built up these walls and you’ve grown up a lot quicker than you should’ve meaning you thought you needed to step up and be a mum, so to speak, to Sophie. 

I’m not saying I don’t appreciate that cause mate, I bloody do and I know your sister does too.  I know your mum is looking down on you and she’s proud of the man you’ve turned into. You’ve made me proud, Sophie too. You’ve made sure that the two of us are happy that you’ve forgotten to think about your happiness. I can tell that Louis has been the person to show you that it’s okay to think about yourself once in a while and he’s made you happy, which has made Sophie and I happy as well.

We love you Niall and we want you to be happy, so please...just listen to Louis. It looks like he really likes you otherwise he wouldn’t be here.”

Louis stands in the doorway, smiling at Chris as he walks past. Niall looks up, and everybody heads  upstairs and leave s  Louis and Niall all alone in the  kitchen . It's silent for a while, the both of them not knowing what to say. The two of them head into the garden to the shed, Louis awkwardly stands in the doorway 

“Did you sleep with him? Please tell me you didn’t sleep with Liam”

“No, I never slept with him. We kissed but it was awkward...”

“So , you never slept with him?”

“Nope, he said he couldn’t do it, he felt like he was betraying you and Zayn. Even when we  kissed , I felt the same way”

“Oh  good ”

“Yeah, so I’m guessing you left  prom early? I heard they were announcing  prom king when Liam and I left...did you win?”

“Didn’t stick around the hear it, I needed to come and see you and stop you from making a mistake with Liam.”

“Even if I slept with Liam, why do you care? I thought I was just a bet; didn’t think I was important to you.”

“Niall that bet was so fucking stupid! I don’t know why I let Liam talk me into it, I knew someone would get their feelings hurt. I knew I'd lose something in the process, like my best friend”

“Well, you certainly lost your best friend, Liam and you seemed to hate each other after you started talking to me”

“I’m not talking about Liam...I’m talking about you. Niall, you’re my best friend. I’ve told you things I've never told anyone else, I opened up to you about my mum and sister, I’ve let you into my life  cause I trust you with it”

Niall blushes and looks down at his feet, he likes knowing that he and Louis can be friends after all those years of hating him. “I feel the same  way, I mean half of the things I've told you I've only ever told one person and that was Chris and sometimes Sophie. You know more about me than I know about myself, I’ve let you into my life and I’m glad that I have”

They look into each other ' s  eyes and all Niall wants to do is kiss Louis but he’s afraid too. He doesn’t want his first kiss to be in the back garden, it’s not the most romantic setting. Well, that is until a bunch of lights turn on, Niall looks up and around the garden before he looks to see Sophie and Lottie grinning, looking quite pleased with themselves.

“What are you looking at?” Louis turns around to see his sister in the window watching the two of them on the grass. He laughs and turns back to  Niall, they both smile before settling back into silence. Niall looks back at Louis, “So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“What’s happening now? Is there anything you want to say or do?”

“Yeah, two things. First, I wanted to say that I really like you and I would really like to be your boyfriend and second, I want to kiss the fuck out of you right about now”

Louis leans in and kisses Niall, he deepens the kiss as he can hear his sister cheering from above. They pull away and look up to see Lottie and Sophie jumping up and down, squealing and whooping. Niall grabs Louis neck and pulls him in for another kiss.

They continue exchanging kisses for the next hour. They quickly text their friends to tell them they’ve made up before kissing one more time. “Hey Lou?”

“Yeah babe?” Niall’s blushes and buries his face in Louis neck at being called babe. He smiles again and wraps Louis suit  jacket around him tighter.

“You know that stupid bet you made that almost cost you the pleasure of knowing me? What was the outcome? Like what does the winner get?”

“Well, seeing as I lost...Liam dared me to do something, but you’re not  gonna find out what it is until graduation”

Niall has no idea what’s in store for their graduation ceremony but he can’t wait   


####

** 1 Month Later **

The two groups of friends finally emerged and they all became quite close; Zayn and Liam got their shit together and finally became official. Luke and Ashton have been strong since Luke’s party earlier in the term, Josh and  Callum got together which came as a surprise to them all but they’re happy, and as for Niall and Louis, well, they haven’t spent any time away from each other.

They’re all sitting in their respective rows at graduation, Niall still has no idea what Louis has planned  cause his boyfriend is sneaky as hell. 

When  Louis name gets called Niall turns around and he isn ’ t surprised to see his boyfriend completely naked with nothing but his graduation cap covering his crotch. Niall blushes when Louis decides to wink in his direction and he blushes even more when he looks out the corner or his eye to see Liam wearing nothing but his graduation cap as well. 

Niall looks back at Zayn who’s just as shocked as he is, but Niall feels like he’s about to pass out when Louis throws his cap at him. He catches it and just hold onto it as Louis runs down the middle with everything hanging out, Louis quickly runs down Niall’s row and kisses him before running away with Liam.

He looks back at Zayn who just shrugs his shoulder and grins. Niall can’t help but smile at his  boyfriends antics and when he walks up to the stage to collect his diploma he c atches a glimpse of Louis bare bum. He blushes and walks off stage and catches up and Louis and slaps his bum before running away.

As Louis chases Niall, Niall can’t help but think, that this was all because of a bet...and that he’s in love with an idiot.


End file.
